connecting college essays and psychosocial student...
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Connecting College Essays and Psychosocial Student Development Theory: The Transformational Experiences
First-Year Students Have Already Experienced
Gustavo Stille, Territory Manager, Undergraduate Admissions Lisa Gillmore, Assistant Director of Competitive Admissions, Undergraduate Admissions
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1. Psychosocial Student Development Theory
2. Undergraduate Admissions Review Process and The Common Application
3. Research Method and Data Analysis
4. Essay Snippets: Tying Vectors and Themes
5. Takeaways & Discussion
AGENDA
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Text GUSTAVOSTILL789
ENTER THE POLL!
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PSYCHOSOCIAL STUDENT
DEVELOPMENT THEORY
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“A sequence of developmental tasks and stages confronted by adults
when their biology and psychology converge, and which qualitatively
change their thinking, feeling, behaving, valuing,
and relating to others and oneself. Psychosocial development
focuses on the personal and human development of students
in relation to their age, peers and environment.”
Source: (http://uncw.edu/studentaffairs/pdc/documents/StudentDevelopmentTheorybyM.Walker.pdf)
PSYCHOSOCIAL STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THEORIES
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UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS REVIEW PROCESS AND THE
COMMON APPLICATION
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1) Application for admission 2) Application fee 3) Official high school transcripts 4) Official ACT or SAT scores Source: http://undergrad.osu.edu/apply/freshmen-columbus/apply-step-by-step
UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS
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• Undergraduate college admission application that allows applicants to apply to any of the 695 member colleges.
• Advantages for students … • Connect to more institutions across the world • Work smarter and enter your information one time to be used at
multiple schools • Stay on track with the system sending several reminder
emails about important dates and deadlines • Streamline recommendation letters for students
Source: http://www.commonapp.org/
THE COMMON APPLICATION
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• We evaluate each applicant in terms of 10 criteria, which are meant to measure the merit of academic achievement as well as personal interests, talents, accomplishments and challenges.
• We review each application thoroughly. To arrive at the most appropriate admission decision, each application is reviewed by at least two members of the admission committee.
• We evaluate each applicant holistically. We don’t select applicants based on any single criterion. All criteria are considered as part of our review of the whole person.
Source: http://undergrad.osu.edu/apply/freshmen-columbus/who-gets-in
APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS
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1. Successful completion of the minimum college prep requirements
2. High school performance (class rank and GPA), including participation in accelerated programs like Honors, AP and IB; Ohio State does not have minimum requirements for class rank or GPA
3. Standardized test score (ACT or SAT); Ohio State does not have minimum requirements for ACT or SAT scores
4. Ability and desire to contribute to and engage with a diverse campus community
5. Experiences that demonstrate leadership or engaged involvement (e.g., co-curricular activities, work experiences or military service)
6. Status as a first-generation college student
7. Demonstration of outstanding talent in a particular area
8. Academic competitiveness of the high school
9. High school performance if adversely affected by physical, mental or learning environment factors
10. Eligibility for and likelihood of benefiting from organized support services at Ohio State Source: http://undergrad.osu.edu/apply/freshmen-columbus/who-gets-in
HOLISTIC REVIEW CRITERIA
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The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a
selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice.
What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart
from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best
helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650
words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response.
Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you
need it, but don't feel obligated to do so. (The application won't accept a
response shorter than 250 words.)
Please write an essay (250- 650 words) on the topics elected. You can
type directly into the box, or you can paste text from another source.
ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS
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1) Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? 2) The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3) Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
4) Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. 5) Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
ESSAY PROMPTS
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RESEARCH METHOD AND
ANALYSIS
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1.Determining sample size:
Au 16 Enrollees = 7,885 Confidence level = 95% Confidence interval = 6% Sample size needed = 258
2.Sampling method:
Random sorting of student IDs of Au16 enrollees. Selection of 258 records for review.
RESEARCH METHOD
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COLLEGE ESSAYS OVERVIEW
Prompts
Themes
Vectors
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1. Background, identity, interest or talent – 113 | 44%
2. Transition to adulthood – 58 | 22%
3. Experienced failure – 50 | 19%
4. Problem solved – 24 | 10%
5. Challenged belief of idea – 11 | 5%
ESSAY PROMPTS
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ESSAY PROMPTS SELECTED
Background, identity,
interest or talent
44%
47%
Transition to Adulthood
22%
22%
Experience Failure
19%
17%
Problem Solved
10%
10%
Challenged Belief of
Idea
5%
4%
OSU
CA
Source: http://www.commonapp.org
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ESSAY PROMPTS SELECTED
Background, identity,
interest or talent
42%
53%
Transition to Adulthood
23%
13%
Experience Failure
20%
10%
Problem Solved
8%
20%
Challenged Belief of
Idea
4%
3%
DOM
INTL
Source: The Ohio State University - OESAR
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Essay Prompt
Essay Theme
1
Essay Theme
2
Essay Theme
3
Essay Theme
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THEMES AROUND PROMPTS
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Academics
Experiential Learning
Extracurricular
Athletics
Home Environment
Death / Illness (others)
Transition & Moves
Service to Others
Social issues
Personal
ESSAY THEMES
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1. Experiential Learning – 42 | 16%
2. Athletics – 39 | 15%
3. Extracurricular – 35 | 14%
4. Home Environment – 33 | 13%
5. Academics – 27 | 11%
6. Personal – 22 / 9%
7. Death / Illness (others) – 21 | 8% 8. Service to Others – 17 | 7% 9. Social issues – 10 | 4% 10. Transition & Moves – 10 | 4%
ESSAY THEMES SELECTED
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MAIN PROMPTS & THEMES
Background, identity, interest
or talent
Extracurricular 29 | 25%
Home Environment
18 | 15%
Experiential Learning 15 | 13%
Transition to Adulthood
Experiential Learning 17 | 29%
Home Environment
12 | 20%
Death/Illness 6 | 10%
Experienced Failure
Athletics 22 | 44%
Academics 8 | 16%
Experiential Learning 7 | 14%
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FROM THEMES and TO VECTOR
THEMES Vector
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CHICKERING’S SEVEN VECTORS
Developing Competence
Managing Emotions
From Autonomy to Independence
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships
Establishing Identity
Developing Purpose
Developing Integrity
Source: “Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice” (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton and Renn)
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Developing Competence
Academics
Experiential Learning
Athletics
Extracurricular
Managing Emotions
Home Environment
Personal
Death/Illness (Others)
From Autonomy to Independence
Transition & Moves
Home Environment
Experiential Learning
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships
Social Issues
Service to Others
Athletics
Establishing Identity
Personal
Home Environment
Academics
Developing Purpose
Experiential Learning
Social Issues
Service to Others
Developing Integrity
Social Issues
Service to Others
SEVEN VECTORS AND ESSAY THEMES
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Developing Competence
Academics
Experiential Learning
Athletics
Extracurricular
Managing Emotions
Home Environment
Personal
Death/Illness (Others)
From Autonomy to Independence
Transition & Moves
Home Environment
Experiential Learning
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships
Social Issues
Service to Others
Athletics
Establishing Identity
Personal
Home Environment
Academics
Developing Purpose
Experiential Learning
Social Issues
Service to Others
Developing Integrity
Social Issues
Service to Others
SEVEN VECTORS AND ESSAY THEMES
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ESSAY SNIPPETS: TYING VECTORS
AND THEMES
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MAIN VECTORS AND THEMES
Developing Competence
Academics
Experiential Learning
Athletics
Extracurricular
From Autonomy to
Interdependence
Transition & Moves
Home Environment
Experiential Learning
Establishing Identity
Personal
Home Environment
Academics
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Managing Emotions
Home Environment
Personal
Death/Illness (Others)
Developing Purpose
Experiential Learning
Social Issues
Service to Others
Developing Integrity
Social Issues
Service to Others
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships
Social Issues
Service to Others
Athletics
LESS PREVALENT VECTORS AND THEMES
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TAKEAWAYS
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COLLEGE ESSAYS OVERVIEW
Prompts
Themes
Vectors
37 85% of population
Experienced failure
19%
Background, identity or interest
44%
Transition to adulthood
22%
ESSAY PROMPTS SUMMARY
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Academics (11%)
Home Environment (13%)
Extracurricular (14%)
Athletics (15%)
Experiential Learning (16%)
ESSAY THEMES SUMMARY
70% of population
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Developing Competence
From Autonomy to Independence
Establishing Identity
VECTORS SUMMARY
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FINAL THOUGHTS?
